Braskem (NYSE:BAK) Shares Up 4.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) shares rose 4.6% on Tuesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $3.51 and last traded at $3.4620. Approximately 1,840,095 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 2,414,276 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.31.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Braskem in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America lowered Braskem from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $2.80 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised Braskem from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Braskem has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $3.87.

Institutional Trading of Braskem

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in Braskem in the fourth quarter worth about $112,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Braskem during the 4th quarter valued at about $232,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Braskem during the 4th quarter valued at about $79,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Braskem during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $477,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Braskem by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 311,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $919,000 after acquiring an additional 20,805 shares during the period.

Braskem Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of -0.80 and a beta of 1.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3.96 and its 200-day moving average is $3.24.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported ($2.33) earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter. Braskem had a negative return on equity of 21.95% and a negative net margin of 14.53%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Braskem S.A. will post -0.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Braskem Company Profile

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) is a leading integrated petrochemical company based in São Paulo, Brazil, and holds the distinction of being the largest thermoplastic resins producer in Latin America. The company operates across the entire value chain, from feedstock sourcing and polymer production to distribution and recycling. Braskem’s comprehensive approach to petrochemical manufacturing enables it to serve a diverse set of end markets with a broad portfolio of products.

Braskem’s core product lines include polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which are used in industries such as packaging, automotive, construction and electrical & electronics.